Family Mourns Movie Theater Employee Fatally Stabbed In Yonkers
YONKERS, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Police are searching for the person who fatally stabbed a man inside a movie theater in Yonkers just after midnight Saturday.
Authorities rushed to Showcase Cinema de Lux at Ridge Hill on Fitzgerald Street just after 12:30 a.m. for reports of a stabbing. Upon arrival, officers located Daij Asante Thomas in the lobby of the theater with a stab wound to his chest.
After attempting to resuscitate Thomas, medics rushed him to New York Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Police say the Thomas -- who was an employee of the movie theater -- was approached by the suspect in the lobby.
After a dispute between the two men, the suspect stabbed Thomas with a knife before fleeing the scene, according to police.
Police say the two men may have known each other previously.
The stabbing happened just as the theater's final showings of the evening were coming to an end. Customers crowded the hallways, seemingly unaware of what had occurred or why investigators were swarming the area.
Showcase Cinema de Lux at Ridge Hill released a statement on the incident Saturday night:
"At this time this is an active police investigation and we are cooperating with the authorities. Our condolences go out to the victim and his family. All inquiries should be directed to the Yonkers Police Department."
Thomas leaves behind his one-year-old son, the child's mother and dozens of loved ones.
"What happens now, we look at it like this, his son, that's what we're focused on, he's a spitting image of him,'" Landon Tucker, Thomas' brother-in-law, said.
It's difficult for Thomas' girlfriend, Tia Petersen, to understand why the love of her live was taken away, CBS2's Raegan Medgie reported.
"I'm going through hell," Petersen said through tears. "I can't take this pain."
The suspect is described as a black male, around 20-years-old and six feet tall with a thin build.
The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information regarding the same is encouraged to contact the Yonkers Police Detective Division at (914) 377-7724. Anonymous tips can be sent by texting the key word YPD plus the tip to 847411.